Always fun to evaluate wines with a bit of bottle age in a horizontal tasting to compare the results from different properties. Another opportunity arose on April 15, 2023 at a tasting-dinner in Vancouver by the Commanderie de Bordeaux at Blue Water Cafe. The spotlight was on eight top Left Bank Bordeaux wines in two flights all from the 2008 vintage. On release there were initial concerns about the cooler wetter August & early September affecting the resulting quality of the wines. However, the weather improved after that in the Fall with a longer extended growing season in warm sunny favourable conditions. The jury was out. The overwhelming endorsement of the following superb 2009 & 2010 vintages left the good value 2008 even more neglected. How are they showing today? Some brief updated impressions:

2008 CHATEAU D’ISSAN: Only Margaux was lighter colour at the rim with open fragrant aromas of ripe sweet flowery fruit. Lovely palate statement of rounded subtle spices with ample charm of the appellation. Stylish drinking beautifully at present.

2008 CHÂTEAU BRANAIRE DUCRU: Dense but drier. Very Bordeaux but quite a bit of herbal eucalyptus notes. Not up to their top quality over the last decade or their delightful 1982.

2008 CHATEAU LEOVILLE BARTON: Second St. Julien impresses with deep darkest look plus aromas of clean intense pure fruit. Much more graphite & richness here with a very classic structure. Evolving slowly so be patient. A beauty for cellaring. Excellent potential.

2008 CHÂTEAU GRAND PUY LACOSTE: Lightest by far of first flight. A Pauillac value fav property (admire 86 & 82) of your scribe awkwardly disappoints in 2008 with red fruits showing lean dry atypical style.

2008 CHATEAU PICHON LALANDE: Young deep red with maturing edge. Not dynamic or singing. Tad of bell pepper. Easy diffuse elegant forward presentation. This year came just between owner May de Lencquesaing dedicated skills for producing remarkable wines and all the subsequent Louis Roederer top vintages. Nicolas Glumineau GM since 2012 has produced a string of really successful wines using more Cab Franc in the blend.

2008 CHATEAU PONTET CANET: So deep and very dark right to the rim. Wonderful impressive concentrated Pauillac fruit still sleeping, Another brilliant success (that includes 2009 & 2010 in that trio) from the amazing Alfred Tesseron team. Needs more time for that powerful fruit to really jell with the tannins for signature cedar bouquet and stunning texture. A treasure in waiting.

2008 CHATEAU CALON SEGUR: Also very dark and packed with big fruit of high Cabernet Sauvignon 82% with Merlot 18% & Petit Verdot 2% that all saw lots of new oak. So stylish with St.Estephe clay terroir peeking through already. Big modern balanced success in 2008. Beauty.

2008 CHATEAU MONTROSE: Darker still for a wow impression that led me first thinking it must be an outstanding vintage or First Growth. Didn’t have recognizable characteristics of any First so must be a 2009 (but not as ripe) or 2010 (not as much fruit truly perfectly balanced). Perhaps then another laudatory 2008 which had to be Montrose by process of elimination. Certainly showed that closed subdued power and aging potential. A big salute to the genius of Jean Delmas for this superb effort.

All in all the 2008 Left Bank Bordeaux vintage wines are showing solid cooler fruit in a classical way. Though most don’t have really massive fruit they are refined stylish examples with admirable balance. Rather good though variable and still under the radar for the very top examples which come highly recommended. Good idea to check some out.

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Question: What are your summary observations on the 2022 Bordeaux crop?

Answer: This decade has started out with the first 3 harvests in Bordeaux producing less quantity than the 10 year averages. In 2022 every month the temperatures were higher and the rainfalll lower than usual – except in June for more rain that included bad hailstorms. July was very sunny and extremely dry (lowest since 1959) resulting in permission being granted for the unusual irrigation of the vines in Pessac-Leognan, Pomerol, and St. Emilion (plus their “satellite” appellations). It was one of the earliest harvests ever (whites starting August 16) though all grapes were picked in rather ideal conditions. Sauternes look very promising indeed. Quality is another issue but so far the reports have been quite encouraging. Also be aware of unlikely but possible smoke taint in the wines caused by those forest fires during the Summer near the wine regions. The Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) holds the En Primeur tasting week April 20-27, 2023 so there will soon be lots of feedback and wine reviews on the 2022 vintage wines generated. Stay tuned.

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What a wonderful #DigiTasting by millesimes-alsace.com with their Digital Trade Wine Fair held earlier this year. The Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins d’Alsace (CIVA) in Colmar, France came up with the brilliant educational marketing idea for #VinsAlsace to #DrinkAlsace through #MillesimeAlsaceDigiTasting around the world. Helped here in Canada by Lumir Jardak of Sopexa Canada. A total of 74 exhibitors from Alsace were represented at the Fair. The result was enthusiastic registration by the Trade on-line for the Fair and to order shipment of Alsace free wine samples in boxes of 4 miniature bottles each of 3cl. size perfectly labelled with screw cap closures. Your scribe received 8 boxes of 4 bottles each to taste, study, and discuss with an appropriate winery principal at a reserved time. Understand that 1400 of these boxes were delivered free around the world to the wine trade. Simply amazing logistics! So well done indeed.

A “SO TRENDY” Masterclass on February 27, 2023 (on replay in French, English, German and Japanese) was led by Thierry Fritsch from France (“Communicate on Alsace wines”) with Jenni Wagoner from USA (“Alsace wines make consumers happy”), Yves Beck from Switzerland (“Alsace has made great headway the last 10 years with a full range of wines – a lot to learn”) & Manuel Peyrondet from France (“Such a diversity of grapes from dry to sweet are trendy & dynamic”) speaking on 4 Alsace wines:

1) “SO FRESH” Riesling Harth 2020 Domaine Schoffit – Lively Vibrant

2) “SO TERROIR” Riesling Kitterle Grand Cru 2017 Dom. Schlumberger – Great higher south facing site gives “sense of place” More aged with acidity holding it well and developing richer concentration.

3) “SO SWEET” Gewurztraminer Vieille Vignes 2020 Domaine Hurst – 50 year vines on granite soil shows spicy saffron sweeter style to match with cheeses.

4) “SO RED” Pinot Noir Rodern 2019 Cave de Ribeauville – 9 months in older oak not powerful but lighter showing lovely fresh cherries, black currants and rounder supple tannins.

Your scribe is a long time fan of Alsace wines (plus a member of the Confrérie Saint-Etienne d’Alsace) yet learned so much more about the current vintages over 3 intensive days. They are so versatile and food friendly. Suggest you definitely try some.

Really enjoyed tasting 2018 Riesling Kastelberg (100 year vines on 42 degree slope gives unique schist terroir) from Jessica (Canadian) & Pierre of Domaine WACH. Also impressed with the 3 Grand Cru Riesling 2019 from Domaine KIRRENBOURG showing great depth and minerality: Schlossberg (fine delicate floral hot stones), Brand (deep rooted vines in granite gives freshness, grapefruit/pineapple notes, subtle and balanced), and Rangen (higher altitude on volcanic soils for long aging). Another hot tip is to look out for the future release of 2022 Pinot Noir Steinbach from JOSEPH CATTIN which will be their best one yet!

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Question: What is your current best tip for a great value white wine Sid?

Answer: Lots of possible answers. My go-to recommendation right now is most Chenin Blancs from South Africa. They are still under the radar but finally getting some notice for the top quality delivered at a most reasonable price. Among the very best is Ken Forrester Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc 2021 from Stellenbosch which is already delicious for fresh fleshy mineral fruit but will continue to develop further bouquet and richness with bottle age. 97 points by Decanter is an impressive score. Congrats!

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On first release there have been many so-called vintages of the century declared. Some have worked out as really stellar years but others have disappointed with their brief longevity. 1982 Bordeaux was somewhat controversial when first presented because of lower acidity levels than previously but have provided some outstanding bottles and stood the test over time. Robert Parker made his trusted wine critic reputation with his correct early assessment of profound complex 1982 Bordeaux.

Now 40+ years of age it is interesting to check up on them and see where they are presently. Over the last few months your scribe has tasted several 1982 properties from Pauillac & St. Julien and all still showed a life of higher quality. These included a surprising Haut-Bages Liberal, value old style concentrated Leoville Barton, minty cassis Lynch-Bages, classy elegant Leoville Las Cases, and dependable Pauillac classic Grand-Puy-Lacoste. Also enjoyed on March 28, 2023 at the Group of Eight Vancouver dinner held at Blue Water Cafe were 9 more excellent 1982 examples in a horizontal tasting with my brief impressions as follows:

LA LAGUNE: Good red depth. A lot of fleshy fruit (in a Margaux-Graves or even Burgundy way) but slightly stemmy-musty notes (TCA or Brett?) that takes the edge off the underlying quality. Also had sediment in the glass even though decanted. Weakest bottle of this evening. Other bottles in the past have shown power + velvet. Can be excellent.

BRANAIRE-DUCRU: Red with lighter rim. Clean lively touch of fragrant mocha-spice in a rounder package. So elegant on a plateau of lovely enjoyment currently.

GRUAUD-LAROSE: Darker than the first two. Exquisite classic cedar almost a Pauillac cigar-box bouquet. Wonderful layering of top complexity not quite yet reached. Ian M uniquely calls it “glowering”
(dark & threatening) to indicate the optimistic evolving great future for this wine. No rush. A treasure.

BEYCHEVELLE: Darkest of the First Flight. Tasty & seductive brawny fruit. Perhaps a little 4-square with less finesse but nonetheless quite delicious now and everyone really liked it.

PICHON LALANDE: Deep intense dark look. A little reluctant on the nose. Notice the richer Merlot middle palate with excellent balance. Not quite as opulent as previous bottles but has magical textures.
Resting before making a further climb? Not 100 but bloody good! Out of curiosity opened last night the underrated 1983 that is more evolved and much more classic. Also a great Pichon – best wine of the 1983 vintage in the northern Medoc. What an outstanding pair.

LEOVILLE POYFERRE: Very dark. Deep but closed in with a reluctant bouquet. Shows its muscles in a drier, harder and more tannic style. Hope the concentrated fruit lasts until the wine softens up. Same
issues with Leoville Barton. Continue to monitor them as they progress.

DUCRU-BEAUCAILLOU: Similar but a paler edge. Very stylish with a higher Cabernet Sauvignon component from that wonderful St. Julien terroir site. Like the special minerality with the rounder tannins in this exquisite fleshy wine. On a perfect long plateau of special drinking pleasure.

HAUT-BRION: Seems darker than previously Putting on weight? Most fragrant! Classy but a different blend (45CS, 37M, and 18CF) results in a lighter red fruit styling. Lovely but not near the incomparable 1989.

VIEUX CHÂTEAU CERTAN: This was a mystery bottle but we were close about a Right Bank 1982. Second darkest behind Leoville Poyferre. Nose somewhat closed at first but opening up with a peppered chocolate statement – very typical of this property. Midweight complex flavours with higher Merlot content noted. Quite different Pomerol styling from the other 1982s and easier softer drinking.

Memorable bottles and definitely shows 1982 Bordeaux continuing as a truly great vintage with remarkable consistency at all levels right across the board. Obviously one of the very best vintages of the (last) Century.

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